Multifunctional thermal installation

ABSTRACT

A multifunctional thermal installation includes a compressor, a switch valve, an evaporator, a condenser, a water heater, and an expansion valve. The water heater has a water inlet that is connected to an underground well. The evaporator and the condenser include at least a first group of heat exchangers and a second group of heat exchangers. The first group of heat exchangers is disposed in the water heater and the second group of heat exchangers and a fan associated with the second group of heat exchangers are disposed in a room. After integrating separate installations into a system, the present invention uses only a small amount of a non-renewable energy source and most of the required energy sources can be replaced by the renewable energy sources collected from the system itself. Thus, the environmental pollution caused by the consumption of energy sources can be reduced significantly. In addition, non-renewable energy sources can be conserved.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN00/00172, with an international filing date of Jun. 23, 2000,which was not published in English under PCT Article 21(2).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a multifunctional thermalinstallation used to improve living conditions. This householdmultifunctional thermal installation is a multifunctional integratedsystem of air conditioning, heating, living hot water and energystorage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The speed of economic development in this century has reached anunprecedented level. Although living conditions have been improved,high-speed development brings adverse social effects that may beneglected by people until those effects pose risks to the environmentthat are hard to recover. There is no doubt that the next century willbring even more developments, and the living conditions of people indeveloping countries will be generally improved; however, improvingliving conditions for people comes at a high cost to the environment byconsuming natural resources that then may require international treatiesto recover within a limited period of time. Since developing countriesare more populated than developed ones, if developing countries improveliving conditions according to the present model, it will be a problemas to whether or not the desired standard of living can be reached. Infact, the environmental problem in China has been placed on the agenda.

[0004] The situation in some of the developing countries is that most ofthe household installations use stand-alone systems, such as airconditioning, heating and living hot water. These installations run onthe consumption of non-renewable resources.

[0005] From a development point of view, the energy consumption for thehousehold installations would increase with the rising standard ofliving. But if every one of the household installations runs on theconsumption of non-renewable resources, they will directly or indirectlyproduce waste materials. These household installations that are placedin different homes are not only large in quantity but are also found ina wide distribution area, and the resulting environmental influencecannot be neglected. Actually, the demand for energy sources for thehousehold installations is very low, i.e. the temperature differencebetween them is generally 20-30° C., but it is completely possible thatmost of the non-renewable energy sources can be replaced by renewableenergy sources. The installations that require large amounts of energysources in ordinary life include air-conditioners, living hot watersupply equipment and heating equipment, and indirect energy demand forair-ventilators. These requirements will increase in the future. Fromthe point of view of social resources that are individually occupied,the consumption model will not be developed sustainably. New energysources must be found to cover the shortage of the non-renewable energysources.

[0006] At present, although such household installations asaforementioned air-conditioners, heating equipment and living hot watersupply equipment use the system of central production and supply indeveloped countries, they run on the consumption of non-renewableresources. Therefore, the amount of non-renewable resources consumed bythe developed countries is much larger than those consumed by thedeveloping countries, and the harm they do to the environment is alsolarger and the non-renewable resources they waste is much more.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention provides a multifunctional thermalinstallation used to improve living conditions on the basis of theconcept of sustainable development and ecological equilibrium. If theseparate installations are made into an integrated system called amultifunctional system, only a little amount of non-renewable energysource is used and most of the energy sources can be replaced by therenewable energy sources collected from the system, so that thepollution that is created by the consumption of energy sources can bereduced effectively. Meanwhile, large amounts of non-renewable energysources can be saved and recovered.

[0008] The multifunctional thermal installation of the present inventionincludes a compressor, an evaporator, a condenser, and an expansionvalve, of which the evaporator and the condenser comprise first andsecond groups of heat exchangers. A switch valve is provided at the endof the outlet of the compressor. The first group of heat exchangers isdisposed within a water heater, while the second group of heatexchangers together with their associated fans are disposed inside aroom. The inlet of the water heater is connected to an underground well.

[0009] The switch valve at the outlet of the compressor of the presentinvention is connected to the heat exchanger inside the room to form aheat supply circulating device; however, the switch valve can also turnto the heat exchanger disposed in the water heater to form arefrigerating circulating device. The water heater can be an enclosedwater tank with a hot water outlet and the compressor can be disposedinside the water heater. The water inlet of the water heater can beconnected to an underground well through a pump.

[0010] The operational principle of the multifunctional thermalinstallation is as follows. The multifunctional cold/hot air blower alsohas a fan and an evaporating/condensing heat exchanger as ordinarycold/hot air blowers do, and the structure of the multifunctional waterheater is substantially the same as those of ordinary ones. Thecompressor condensing process used in the refrigeration and the reversecycle of said process is used in the heat supply of the multifunctionalcold/hot air blower and no more description on the operational principleof the heat supply shall be made herein. The combined installation is amultifunctional integration of a multifunctional blower, a compressorand a multifunctional water heater. The multifunctional integration onlyconsumes 10-20% of the absolute value of the total non-renewable energyresources of the system and other energy resources it needs come fromalternate energy resources. This integrated system is called“multifunctional system.”

[0011] When it is in the status of refrigeration, the refrigeratingenergy of the cold air blower comes from the water heater, wherein theheating energy of the water heater comes from the cold air blower, theresidual thermal energy of the water heater is output and stored in theunderground well for use as the primary thermal energy for heating inwinter.

[0012] When it is in the status of heating, the thermal energy of thehot air blower comes from the energy stored in the underground well inseasons that do not need heating, while the cold water of which thethermal energy has been absorbed by the hot air blower shall be storedin the underground well for use as the refrigeration source in summer.

[0013] The combined installation is an integrated accrete body of whichthe cold/hot air blower and the multifunctional water heater constitutea common thermal circulation after compensating each other, so itsstructure is compact.

[0014] Although the thermodynamic process of the combined installationstill uses the circulating process of conventional compressors, the workcondition of the combined installation is much lower than that ofconventional air-conditioners, i.e. the seasonal energy-efficiency ratio(SEER) can reach 10 or greater which is more than two times that ofconventional air-conditioners, since the thermodynamic processes of twofunctions are combined into one.

[0015] For example, the condensing temperature of 40° C. and evaporatingtemperature of 5° C. is used in conventional air-conditioners with R22as a work medium, while the evaporating temperature used in the combinedinstallation is more than 12° C. and the condensing temperature is 20°C. or even lower. The LGp-H circulation figure is attached forreference.

[0016] For users, since the previous set of air-conditioner issimplified into a cold/hot air blower without outdoor equipment and theprevious boiler for supply of living hot water is simplified into anenclosed container, the space they occupy is reduced and they areconvenient for use. Replacing the separate household thermalinstallations with the multifunctional installations can reduce morethan half of the energy consumption per capita in developed countries.Since the efficiency of the industrial installations in developedcountries has reached a high level, it is difficult to reduce theemission index of the greenhouse gases while civil installations arepotential. Replacing the conventional separate installations with themultifunctional installations could efficiently reduce the emissionindex of the greenhouse gases in developed countries. Although thecost/performance ratio of the multifunctional installation is muchhigher than that of the conventional top-grade household appliances, itwill be more advantageous if the multifunctional installations arepromoted in developing countries using the one-step model, which avoidstaking the road back using the development model of the developedcountries. Since nearly 100 million sets of household appliances areneeded in developing countries every year, the promotion of themultifunctional installation in these countries constitutes alarge-scale project of recovery of global warming. If conventionalhousehold appliances are still used, the greenhouse gases shall increaseat an order of magnitude of 100 million tons per year.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017]FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a first embodiment according tothe present invention; and

[0018]FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a second embodiment according tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is amultifunctional installation mainly including a compressor 1, anevaporator (or condenser) 3, a condenser (or evaporator) 6, and anexpansion valve 5, wherein the evaporator and the condenser both includefirst and second groups of heat exchangers 31 and 61 and a fan. At theoutlet of the compressor 1 of the present invention there is provided anexpansion valve 2 of which different changes can result in therefrigeration and heating systems wherein one group of the heatexchangers 61 is disposed in a water heater 7 and the other group 31together with their corresponding fans are disposed inside the room. Thewater inlet of the water heater 7 is connected to a well.

[0020] The operational principle of the present invention is verysimple: When refrigeration is needed, the water heater collects 12-16°C. water from the underground well, the switch valve at the end of theoutlet of the compressor 1 is connected to the heat exchanger 61 whichis inside the water heater, the cryogen is changed into high-temperaturesaturated gas of more than 65° C. after compressed by the compressor 1,then its temperature is lowered by the heat exchanger 61 after heatexchange with the low-temperature water in the water heater 7, and thenthe condensed cryogen enters the heat exchanger 31 inside the room to beevaporated and absorbs a large amount of heat after being expanded bythe expansion valve 5; thus the refrigeration process is finished.During this process, the heat exchanger 61 functions as a condenser andthe heat exchanger 31 functions as an evaporator, so a cold air bloweris formed. During the process of heat exchange, the low-temperaturewater in the water heater 7 shall be changed into 62° C. hot water foruse directly. Therefore, refrigerating energy of the cold air blowercomes from the water heater 7 and the thermal energy of the water heater7 comes from the cold air blower, the residual thermal energy of thewater heater 7 can be stored in the underground well for use as theprimary thermal energy for heating in winter.

[0021] The other work condition of the present invention is a heatingprocess as shown in FIG. 2. The water heater 7 collects 16-30° C. warmwater that is stored in summer from the underground well, the switchvalve at the end of the outlet of the compressor 1 is connected to theheat exchanger 31 which is inside the water heater, the cryogen ischanged into high-temperature gas work medium of more than 55° C. aftercompressed by the compressor 1, and then condensed by the heat exchanger31 and gives out heat. Thus the heating process is finished. Thecondensed cryogen enters the heat exchanger 61 inside the room to beevaporated and absorbs heat after being expanded by the expansion valve5. During this process, the heat exchanger 31 functions as a condenserand the heat exchanger 61 functions as an evaporator and thus a heatingdevice is formed. During the process of heat exchange, thehigh-temperature water in the water heater 7 shall be changed into 1-2°C. cold water and can then be refilled in the underground well for useas the primary refrigerating energy in summer. Therefore, the heatingenergy of the hot air blower mainly comes from the energy stored in theunderground well in the warmer seasons, and the water from which thethermal energy has been absorbed by the hot air blower shall be storedin the underground well for use as the refrigerating energy in summer.

[0022] In summary, the combined installation of the present invention isan integrated accrete body of which the cold/hot air blower and themultifunctional water heater constitute a common thermodynamiccirculation after compensating each other, so the installation iscompact in structure. Since the thermodynamic processes of two functionsare combined into one, the work condition of the combined installationis much lower than that of conventional air-conditioners, i.e., theseasonal energy-efficiency ratio (SEER) can reach 10 or greater, whichis more than two times of that of conventional air-conditioners.

[0023] Embodiment 1

[0024] The structure shown in FIG. 1 is the first embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the water heater 7 is an enclosedwater container which is provided with a water inlet 71 that isconnected to an underground well, from the well 8-16° C. low-temperaturewater is pumped into the enclosed water heater 7 by the pump P. Thecompressor 1 can also be disposed in the water heater 7. The switchvalve 2 at the end of the outlet of the compressor 1 is connected to theheat exchanger 61 which is inside the water heater 7. After beingcompressed, the cryogen is changed into a gas work medium with the hightemperature of 65° C., and then the high-temperature gas work medium canlower the temperature efficiently after heat exchange with thelow-temperature water in the water heater 7 through heat exchanger 61.The temperature of the cryogen of which the temperature has been loweredto −4° C. shall be generally lowered to −15° C. after being expandedthrough the expansion valve 5, and then it enters the heat exchanger 31which is inside the room to be evaporated and absorbs the heat in theroom to finish the refrigerating process. In the circulation of thepresent embodiment, the heat exchanger 61 in the hot water heater 7functions as a condenser and the heat exchanger 31 in the room functionsas an evaporator. In the process of condensation, without any heatingprocess using non-renewable energy sources, the low-temperature water inthe water heater can be heated, since the cryogen shall give out a largeamount of heat. Thus the water of 62° C. is obtained and flows out foruse through the hot water outlet 72 disposed on the water heater 7. Theresidual hot water can be stored in the underground well for use as theprimary thermal energy for heating in winter.

[0025] Embodiment 2

[0026]FIG. 2 shows the second embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, the water heater 7 is an enclosed water container whichis provided with a water inlet 71 connected to an underground well. Inthe underground well there is warm water of 16-30° C. that was stored insummer, and the warm water is pumped by the pump P into the water heater7. The compressor 1 is disposed inside the water heater 7. The switchvalve 2 at the end of the output of the compressor 1 is connected to theheat exchanger 31 in the room. The cryogen is changed into a gas workmedium of 55° C. after being compressed and then exchanges heat with thelow-temperature air in the room through the heat exchanger 31, thus ahot air blower is formed. The temperature of the air outlet of the hotair blower can reach 55° C., so the function for heating the room isrealized. The cryogen of which the temperature has been lowered shallenter the heat exchanger 61 for evaporating and absorbing after it islowered further to −15° C. by being expanded in expansion valve 5. Thusthe water in the water heater is changed into low-temperature water of1-2° C. and then stored in the underground well for use as the primaryrefrigerating energy in summer. In the circulation of the presentembodiment, the heat exchanger 61 inside the water heater 7 functions asan evaporator and the heat exchanger in the room functions as acondenser.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multifunctional thermal installation,comprising: a compressor having an inlet and an outlet; a switch valvecoupled to the outlet of the compressor; an evaporator; a condenser; awater heater having a water inlet and a water outlet, the water inlet ofthe water heater being connected to an underground well; and anexpansion valve, wherein the evaporator and the condenser comprise atleast a first group of heat exchangers and a second group of heatexchangers, the first group of heat exchangers being disposed in thewater heater and the second group of heat exchangers and fans associatedwith the second group of heat exchangers being disposed in a room.
 2. Amultifunctional thermal installation as described in claim 1, whereinthe switch valve coupled to the outlet of the compressor is connected tothe second group of heat exchangers disposed in the room to form aheating circulation system.
 3. A multifunctional thermal installation asdescribed in claim 1, wherein the switch valve coupled to the outlet ofthe compressor is connected to the first group of heat exchangersdisposed in the water heater to form a refrigeration circulation device.4. A multifunctional thermal installation as described in claim 1,wherein the water heater is an enclosed water container and the wateroutlet is a hot water outlet.
 5. A multifunctional thermal installationas described in claim 1, wherein the compressor is disposed in the waterheater.
 6. A multifunctional thermal installation as described in claim1, wherein the water inlet of the water heater is connected to theunderground well by a pump.